Music Fans Camp Out at Third Man Records for Record Store Day

A band of music fans rose with the sun yesterday morning, having camped outside of Third Man Records in Nashville to snag a limited edition Elvis Presley recording and other vinyl releases on Record Store Day.

“We’ve been here since 11 p.m. last night,” said Josaiah Burns as he sat settled in on the street corner. “Some people have been here since six.”

Just outside the doors of Third Man Records, Sam Ratke and Kylie Thomas sat in lawn chairs, recapping their overnight stay on the sidewalk.

“It’s been pretty cool,” Ratke said. “Everybody’s been hanging out and partying.”

As the sun rose, the ranks of campers were joined by young professionals, coffee-toting hipsters and one homeless gentleman particularly passionate about spreading the gospel.

These hearty music lovers had a common goal: to buy a pressing of Elvis’ first recording.

Jack White, the owner of Third Man, purchased the rights to the recording—a cover of the standard “My Happiness”— earlier this year for $300,000 with plans to reissue the song on vinyl for Record Store Day.

Third Man also released the first commercially-available vinyl edition of The White Stripes’ fifth album, Get Behind Me Satan, in addition to plethora of limited edition merchandise.

This article was published in cooperation with the Seigenthaler News Service.